The US Coast Guard has rescued one person from the Atlantic Ocean after a Conquest Air Convair C-131B aircraft crashed east of Miami on 8 February.

The Coast Guard is now searching for a second person who was apparently aboard the aircraft when it came down at about 12:15 local time, according to the Coast Guard and the US Federal Aviation Administration.

The aircraft crashed while operating Conquest flight 405 from Nassau's Lynden Pindling International airport in the Bahamas to Miami-Opa-locka Executive airport, says the FAA.

Video taken by local news stations shows what appears like the aircraft's wing.

Only two people were believed aboard when the aircraft "landed on the water" about 11nm (20km) east of Miami, say the Coast Guard and the FAA.

The Convair, registration N145GT, was manufactured in 1955 and powered by two Pratt & Whitney R-2800 radial engines, the FAA says.

Coast Guard searches through the night for missing crew member on downed cargo plane
Martin Vassolo
February 08, 2019

The U.S. Coast Guard said it would search “through the night” Friday for a missing crew member who was aboard a cargo plane that crashed about 20 miles southeast of Miami-Opa Locka Executive Airport after departing from the Bahamas.

The Coast Guard rescued one crew member from the wreckage off the coast of the Bay Harbor Islands on Friday afternoon. Dramatic helicopter rescue, captured on local TV footage, showed rescuers hoisting the man out of the water. The Coast Guard had not located the second crew member as of 8 p.m. Friday.

The 64-year-old Convair 131-B aircraft, owned by Miami Lakes-based Conquest Air Cargo, took off from Lynden Pindling International Airport in Nassau to Miami-Opa Locka Executive Airport on Conquest Air Flight 504, according to the Federal Aviation Administration.

In a statement to the Miami Herald, the company said the airplane declared an emergency and attempted a water landing when it crashed 13 miles offshore about 12:15 p.m. Television footage showed the aircraft upside down in the water and with parts detached.

The fixed-wing, multi-engine aircraft was returning from a cargo delivery in Nassau, the company said. It is certified with the FAA.

“Our concern is with our flight crew and we will continue to coordinate with the relevant authorities,” Conquest Air Cargo said.

The Coast Guard sent a rescue helicopter and a 45-foot boat to the scene. The helicopter crew transferred the rescued passenger to emergency medical services at Air Station Miami. His condition is unknown.

“Preliminary indication is that two people were on board,” the FAA said in a statement.

Conquest Air Inc., which registered to do business in Florida in 2002, is a cargo airline providing daily trips to Nassau and regular service to the Caribbean. It has an office at Lynden Pindling International Airport.

The Coast Guard has suspended its search for a second pilot who was on board a cargo plane that crashed off Miami, leaving the victim’s loved ones devastated. The Coast Guard said Saturday they suspended the search for the missing victim after 21 hours and covering more than 300 square miles. Loved ones identified him as Capt. Robert Hopkins.

“People love him; he loves people. He’s there for you when you need it,” said his fiancée, Michele Gure. Gure said she still held out holding out hope that he’d be found. “It just doesn’t make sense,” she said.

But late Saturday afternoon, they Coast Guard officially called off the search. “They came here, and they told me, and my son was here, and it was not registering,” said Gure.

Hopkins and the other pilot, identified by loved ones as Roland Silva, were delivering cargo for Conquest Air from the Bahamas to Miami-Opa Locka Executive Airport aboard a C-131. Friday afternoon, the small aircraft crashed about 15 miles off the Haulover Inlet. A Coast Guard crew rescued Silva shortly after.

7News cameras captured Silva with apparent injuries to his forehead and chin as he was placed in a rescue chopper. He was taken to Jackson Memorial Hospital, where he is listed in stable condition.

Following the Coast Guard’s announcement, Conquest Air released a statement that reads, “We would like to thank the U.S. Coast Guard and the Miami Police Department, Miami-Dade Fire Rescue and the City of Miami Fire Rescue, who also joined the search. Our thoughts remain with the family of Captain Robert Hopkins at this difficult time. This is a tremendous loss for our company. Captain Hopkins’ selfless leadership was and will always remain an example for us all.”

“I’m sure that he’s so happy and so pleased to see what a difference he actually made,” said Gure. “Even though he should be so confident, those times when he doubted in himself, and this just proves it and brings it to summation, the kind of person he is.”

The victims’ Convair was a twin-engine propeller plane manufactured in 1955.

A Conquest Air Cargo Convair C-131, registration N145GT performing freight flight QAI-504 from Nassau (Bahamas) to Miami Opa-Locka,FL (USA) with 2 crew, was enroute about 10nm east of the coast of Florida east of Miami when both engines failed forcing the crew to ditch the aircraft in the ocean about 9nm east of the coast and about 20nm southeast of Opa-Locka Airport at about 12:15L (17:15Z). Rescue services deployed to the ditching site, one of the pilots floating in a life raft was lifted to a rescue helicopter, the other pilot is currently still missing.

The FAA reported the aircraft departed Nassau for Miami's Opa Locka Airport and needed to land in the water about 20nm southeast of Opa Locka Airport. According to preliminary information two people were on board.

The Coast Guard reported they hoisted one person and are still searching for the other.

Late Feb 9th 2019 the Coast Guard reported they have suspended the search for the second pilot after a continuous search for 21 hours covering 364 square nautical miles.

On Feb 10th 2019 the airline identified the missing pilot being the captain (68) of the flight, the rescued pilot was the first officer (28). The first officer remains in hospital care in stable condition.

The wing of a small plane washed ashore early Monday morning on Hutchinson Island. The Coast Guard confirms it belongs to a small plane that crashed Friday into the Atlantic Ocean about 13 miles off the coast of Bay Harbor Islands. The passenger was rescued, the pilot is still unaccounted for.

The Federal Aviation Administration told WPLG-TV a Conquest Air Cargo Convair aircraft landed in the water about 20 miles southeast of Opa Locka Airport in Miami-Dade County where the plane was headed from Lynden Pindling International Airport in Nassau, The Bahamas.

Conquest Air Cargo provides daily flights between the two airports.

The Coast Guard said an MH-65 Dolphin helicopter crew from Miami rescued one man from a life raft in the water and was searching for another person.

The unidentified man was transferred by helicopter to emergency medical services at Air Station Miami and then taken to Jackson Memorial Hospital in Miami. He is safe and stable at the hospital, Marc Wolff of Conquest Air told ABC News.

The helicopter pilot, who was conducting training exercises, went to the area and found the man waving his arms from a small lifeboat, WPLG reported.

The Coast Guard Station Miami Beach also launched a 45-foot response boat to assist.

The Miami-Dade Police Department, which notified the Coast Guard about a possible downed two-engine aircraft, assisted along with the Miami Fire Rescue Department.